Culture can be defined as norms, values and customs practiced by the community members. Cultures differ from one community to another, and it earns respect from most of the people practicing it. In some instances, conflicts arise when some people opt to sideline their culture, therefore, forcing condemnation from their fellow tribes’ men. Other communities may term the culture of their neighbors to be barbaric and backward, and it fuels enmity and hatred between the parties involved (Mitchell, Adrian, and Homer 69). From the past, people have been taught to respect the culture of their fore fathers and they should also ensure that it is followed to the letter. Going against the culture in some settings can lead to some tragedy things befalling on the individual.
It is the culture of people to marry when they find suitors in their lives. Odysseus had been a war captive for close to ten years since he had been held as a sex captive in the island. However, He was willing to be a sex captive while he had left his wife behind with their teenage children. This shows the culture of men to be superior on their spouses. It was inhuman to live in the island as an agreeable sex captive while he knew very well that he had a wife (Mitchell, Adrian, and Homer 168). Men will always remain superior to their wives irrespective of what they are indulging into. In most traditional communities, women were just viewed as objects that could be manipulated by the males the way they wished.
On the other hand, Odysseus’ wife was facing several suitors since; they believed that her husband would never return. It was a culture of women to remarry if their husbands had left them. Therefore, it was upon the men to try their luck on the ladies. However, it was against the culture to remarry while the spouse was still alive regardless their knowledge of their whereabouts. Women were supposed to remain faithful to their husbands (Mitchell, Adrian, and Homer 217). This was some type of stereotype to aid men in their exploration of the world at the expense of freedom of their wives. By rejecting the potential suitors, it shows that the culture of the community did not apprehend the action.
It was the norms of the Odysseus community to search for their loved ones if they went missing. First, they would consult their gods and goddesses before embarking on the search journey. Telemachos is first visited by a goddess who would later urge him to go looking for his father. It was the tradition of the community to believe in the gods since; that was the way of life. No one would go against the gods and goddess as they feared that something tragic would befall them. The community would not even dare question them. The gods were perceived to have power that no one would possess thereby; enabling them to give direction to the people. Their culture was not against believing into other beings other than the supreme God (Mitchell, Adrian, and Homer 312). They would value the information provided by their gods as they has no other option. The gods had power and it is well depicted when Athene a goddess asked her father to let Kalpyso release Odysseus. The gods helped Odysseus got his men revolved back into person’s shows just how much the gods had power. By people believing in them, it was enough to meet all their needs.
The men were required to be strong and brave. It was the culture of many people to view men as protectors of the homes. Odysseus well portrays the characters when he embarks on going to the forest. When he went missing, it was the responsibility of their son to look for him and not their mother. The males were perceived to be stronger and it was against the culture for a male to refute on doing something for the fear of facing tragic accidents (Mitchell, Adrian, and Homer 194). This posed great danger to the male child since they had a hard task to confront anything that was not within their power. Some of the men would be killed in the process and the community would term them as heroes for dying in the line of their duty.
It was the tradition of the wives from the Odysseus’ community to kill their husbands on their return. It was seen as a vengeance action against their men. A good example is drawn from Agamemnon who was killed by his wife and lover. As revenge Agamemnons’ son would later kill the slayers (Mitchell, Adrian, and Homer 201). It was the culture of the people to kill each other on the basis of family issues. The culture seemed to permit it since Odysseus’ wife was also contemplating on killing the husband. The law does not seem to take its due course in prosecuting the homicides. To prevent it from happening, the gods has to make Odysseus a beggar so as to escape the tragedy.
Nevertheless, the values and customs that infringe on the human rights should be eradicated with all means possible. Only the ones that promote peaceful coexistence should be embraced. Before condemning any culture, one should sit down with the community members and explain to them the harm the culture causes. By doing so, conflict is avoided. Not all cultures should be done away with as not all of them are bad. They help retain the history of the different communities.
Works cited
Mitchell, Adrian, and Homer. "The Odyssey." (2000). Print.
